The Quichua System of Beliefs about Language Acquisition and Social Use: Cultural Resilience in Quichua-Spanish Contact

Exploratory research conducted in Imbabura, Ecuador, reveals that the Quichua system of beliefs about language acquisition and social use involves three components: cognitive development, language socialization, and childcare (more precisely, hygiene and diet). Most interviewees shared this core belief system regardless of their score on a biculturalism scale, age, educational background, and mother tongue. The Quichua belief system remains even when linguistic shift occurs, in which case it is transposed to the acquisition of the new language (Spanish). Linguistic shift thus does not necessarily imply global acculturation.